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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Tides of Honour by Genevieve Graham | Review

Though I missed out on the amazing Timeless Tour that Genevieve Graham did with Susanna Kearsley across Canada, I was so excited to be on the tour for Tides of Honour! Genevieve completely took my breath away with her newest release. Also, I've read some of her previous works (Somewhere To Dream, Sound of the Heart) and am a big fan of Ms. Grahams work.

A novel of love, loss, and honour amidst the horrors of war and its aftermath.

It’s
1916, and the last thing Nova Scotian soldier Danny Baker expects to
find in war-torn France is the love of his life. Audrey Poulin is alone
in the world, and struggling to survive the war in the French
countryside. When Audrey and Danny meet and fall in love, it seems like
the best version of fate.

But love is only the beginning, as
Danny loses a leg in the Battle of the Somme, and returns home to
Halifax with Audrey, only to discover that he’s unable to leave the war
behind. Danny and Audrey struggle with their new life together, and must
face not only their own internal demons, but a catastrophe that will
soon rip apart everything they think they know about themselves and each
other.

Genevieve Graham, author of Under the Same Sky and Sound
of the Heart, brings her passion for weaving history and fiction
together in a seamless tale that will capture and enthrall the reader.

So exciting to read a book where much of the story is based in Canada! And it includes a large historical moment right in the middle of it. How could I not love this story?

Such an emotional ride - from the trenches in France to the shores of Halifax, we follow Danny Baker as he fights in the war and battles his way in life when he returns without his best friends and without his leg. Danny struggles daily with the loss he has suffered and it makes him become a bitter and spiteful man - even around those he loves the most. You can't help but be attached to him, cheer him on when he first returns to a life he just might not be able to cope with and you hope with such abandon that he can make a life for him and his Audrey when she arrives in Canada.

When Danny meets Audrey on a dirt road in France, the attraction is there immediately for both and through letters they fall in love and promises are made to get married when Danny goes home form the war. His little European artist brings light into his life even during his darkest days.

"...There I was in the darkest place on earth, and she was like the sun." pg. 36

After following Danny and Audrey through their newly married life and the their move to Halifax from the shores of Jeddore, you see how the luxuries of the big city can draw you into a life you may not have been meant for. Audrey yearns to go home to the cabin in the woods, but starts to settle in with the upper class because of her artistic talents and the help of a local businessman. Meanwhile, Danny starts to become and angry drunk who works on the docks. They are beginning to drift apart and it tears at your heart that such a loving couple could let this happen to their lives. And then, BOOM! The Halifax explosion happens and everything changes....

When Danny thinks he has lost everything in the chaos that is Halifax in 1917. He finally begins to heal his internal scars and becomes the man you always knew was inside. He works to help the injured, the homeless and the orphaned to rebuild the lives that were destroyed in a flash.

The love story of Danny and Audrey is beautiful and real. It's not all rainbows and sunshine and they struggle like any couple - perhaps even more so. This is what makes them a great couple. You'll laugh and cry with them throughout the entire story.

And the description of the explosion was so engaging to me, as I have not read enough about it to date. I knew of it, of course, but the details that Ms. Graham writes about in her book are amazing to me. I didn't realize just how devastating this disaster was. I think combining the romance, the war and the explosion all into one story is a captivating experience. I'll be adding this book to my keep pile. I'm a sucker for a good Canadian book.

Check out the Reading Group Guide once you've read the book... it has some amazing questions to get you thinking about the book.

About the Author:

Genevieve
Graham graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in music
in 1986 and began writing in 2007. Her first three novels, Under the
Same Sky, Sound of the Heart, and Somewhere to Dream, were international
bestsellers. Graham is passionate about historical adventure, runs an
editing business, and teaches piano. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Visit her at GenevieveGraham.com. - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Tides-of-Honour/Genevieve-Graham/9781476790510#sthash.CuXdSyxJ.dpuf

Genevieve Graham graduated from the
University of Toronto in 1986 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance
(playing the oboe). While on a ski vacation in Alberta, she met her
future husband in a chairlift lineup and subsequently moved to Calgary
to be with him. They have recently settled in a small, peaceful town in
Nova Scotia with their two beautiful daughters.

Genevieve
Graham graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in music
in 1986 and began writing in 2007. Her first three novels, Under the
Same Sky, Sound of the Heart, and Somewhere to Dream, were international
bestsellers. Graham is passionate about historical adventure, runs an
editing business, and teaches piano. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Visit her at GenevieveGraham.com. - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Tides-of-Honour/Genevieve-Graham/9781476790510#sthash.CuXdSyxJ.dpuf

Genevieve
Graham graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in music
in 1986 and began writing in 2007. Her first three novels, Under the
Same Sky, Sound of the Heart, and Somewhere to Dream, were international
bestsellers. Graham is passionate about historical adventure, runs an
editing business, and teaches piano. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Visit her at GenevieveGraham.com. - See more at:
http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Tides-of-Honour/Genevieve-Graham/9781476790510#sthash.CuXdSyxJ.dpuf

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